Sidewalk Riding Motorcycle Taxi Drivers May Face 3-Year Ban

Motorcycle-taxi drivers who repeatedly ride on Bangkok’s sidewalks could have their queue jackets confiscated for up to three years. This new law is under a proposal being considered by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration.

“Every opinion will be taken into consideration. We want to know whether the people agree with the policy or not, and what their suggestions are. This is for the orderliness of Bangkok,” he said.

Pol Capt Pongsakorn and his team also invited motorcycle-taxi drivers in the Thong Lor area to voice their opinions.

A total of 10,000 flyers have been distributed to all 50 districts in Bangkok to gather opinions from motorcycle-taxi drivers and other people, according to the spokesman.

The results will be considered in the drafting of a proposal to be presented to a subcommittee on the management of motorcycle taxis on Oct 31. It will then be forwarded to the main committee co-chaired by the BMA and the Department of Land Transport.

Pol Capt Pongsakorn said the three-year ban was just an idea and still had to be thought through. The city needs to ensure fairness and the committee may not agree to something so drastic.

Since July 9 last year, BMA officials have arrested 24,337 motorcyclists for pavement riding. The city collected about 17 million baht in fines the Bangkok Post reported.